1. Field of the Invention:
This invention is in the field of braces for human joints.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
A variety of mechanical braces have been devised for supPorting a joint allowing pivotal motion thereof. Braces have been particularly utilized in supporting the knee joint to facilitate knee pivotal motion. Typically, the knee brace is mounted immediately above and beneath the knee and extends along the opposite sides thereof. Such a knee brace has a fixed pivot axis which must be initially aligned with the knee pivot axis. After repeated pivotal motion of the knee, the brace may shift longitudinally on the leg resulting in misalignment of the brace pivot axis relative to the knee pivot axis. Undue pressure is then applied to the knee joint due to the misalignment of the two pivot axes. To further compound such a problem, the knee joint pivot axis floats or moves during any knee motion while the pivot axis of the prior art knee brace is fixed due to the construction extending on the opposite sides of the knee. I have disclosed herein a joint brace particularly adapted for use with the knee which has a floating or non-fixed brace pivot axis aligned with the knee pivot axis even though the knee is constantly moving and the brace has shifted from its initial mounting location.
The knee brace disclosed herein is designed to prevent injuries particularly occurring in sporting activities as distinguished from many prior braces designed to support the joint after joint injury. These prior art braces are relatively heavy structures extending on the opPosite sides of the joint and will therefore transmit lateral impact force directly to the joint. The brace disclosed herein does not extend on the opposite sides of the joint, but is instead located forward of the joint. Further, my brace includes a plurality of slidably mounted strips extending above and below the joint providing resistance to twisting of the joint.